ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been unable to finalise an ideal location for a cricket stadium and bus terminals following two major changes to the capital’s master plan made in the past.

In 1960, the Greek firm Doxiadis Associates, which had prepared Islamabad’s master plan, declared 2,250 acres along Srinagar Highway as the National Sports Centre. This is the same area where the Pakistan Sports Complex and other sports and recreational facilities were developed.

However, this area was later made part of the Margalla Hills National Park, and development activities were halted.

In the master plan, Sector I-8 had been reserved for a transportation centre and city bus terminals, but through amendments the sector was converted into a residential area for the bureaucracy. As a result, the city has no international cricket stadium or transportation centre to this day.

Civic agency’s chairman rules out constructing proposed cricket stadium at Fatimah Jinnah Park

Although the CDA earmarked a plot for a national bus terminal, it was also located in the residential Sector I-11.

Recently, the issue of the CDA’s proposed cricket stadium in F-9 Park, the city’s largest public park, surfaced on social media, where people criticised the authority for the plan.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed also opposed it, saying the project would destroy the park’s ecology, deprive citizens of recreational space, and pose security risks to nearby offices and armed forces’ buildings.

In response, CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa tweeted: “No stadium, no concrete, no destruction and no tree will be cut. Only green turf and world-class pitches with stunning Margalla views, creating a better playing and recreational experience for citizens.”

When contacted on Sunday, the chairman told Dawn there was no plan to construct a cricket stadium in F-9 Park.

“Not at all. We only want to improve the existing cricket ground with better pitches and grass,” he said. Asked about CDA’s plan for an international cricket stadium, he said, “Please don’t confuse the F-9 cricket ground with the proposed international cricket stadium. These are two separate things.”

He added that the CDA, in collaboration with the Pakistan Cricket Board, would soon hire consultants to identify suitable locations anywhere in Islamabad.

“The proposed cricket stadium will not be constructed in a public park; this is for sure. It will be built in accordance with the consultant’s report and the city’s master plan,” he said.

It is relevant to note that in 1960, Doxiadis Associates had earmarked 2,250 acres along Srinagar Highway towards Murree Road as a sports centre. The Pakistan Sports Complex, Gun and Country Club, hockey stadium, tennis courts and other sports and recreational facilities were later developed in this area, including the Islamabad Club, which houses a golf course, a polo ground and a cricket ground.

However, in 1979, through an ordinance, this area was included in the national park, and construction activities were halted. In 2018, the Supreme Court scrapped a Pakistan Cricket Board project to build a stadium in the area. Later, the CDA earmarked a site at the foothills of the Margalla Hills near D-12 for a stadium, but it could not be utilised. The CDA now plans to seek expert advice for an ideal location, which will also include the D-12 site as an option.

“The cricket stadium and bus terminals should ideally be outside the city to avoid traffic congestion,” said a CDA official, adding that even Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is not in an ideal location, as cricket matches there caused severe traffic disruption and security problems for residents of the twin cities.

Asked about the possibility of constructing a stadium on the sports centre land, the official said: “Until the federal government withdraws the 1979 notification, no new construction can take place in the sports centre. Therefore, the CDA cannot build the stadium in this area.”

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2025